


Jardin d'Eden

by croissantbleu



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Florist!Dan, Fluff, M/M, Single Parent Dan Howell, Strangers to Lovers, Teacher Phil Lester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 20:31:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15227313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/croissantbleu/pseuds/croissantbleu
Summary: "They made it just in time, thanks to Dan covering the last part of the path with Nathan on his back and clutching onto his shoulders. He set him down and planted a kiss on the top of his head.“Run kid, if you get inside before the bell rings, we're free men!”Nathan giggled and hurried to the gate, where a teacher was standing.“Hi I'm Dan, Nathan's dad, I'm assuming you're his teacher?”“Yes, I don't think we've met yet,” Phil smiled. “My colleague Lisa usually does the openings.” "Or the one in which Dan is a single dad managing running a flower shop and dealing with his five years old son, and his new teacher is very easy to like





	Jardin d'Eden

“Daaaaaad we're going to be late,” Nathan shouted from the hallway.

“I'll be here in a second sweetheart, I just don't know where you put your-” Dan sighed. “You left it at mum's house, didn't you?”

“Uhhhh maybe. I don't know. Am I in trouble?”

“No, of course not. I'll just explain what happened to your teacher, it's not your fault.”

Dan walked back to the hallway and poked at Nathan’s nose. He stuck out his tongue in protestation and grabbed his yellow backpack.

“Let's go, alright? We wouldn't want to be late now. Do you have everything you need?”

“Yes! It's  _ your _ fault if we're late. Come on!”

He started tugging on Dan's sleeve to pull him forward. 

*

They made it just in time, thanks to Dan covering the last part of the path with Nathan on his back and clutching onto his shoulders. He set him down and planted a kiss on the top of his head.

“Run kid, if you get inside before the bell rings, we're free men!”

Nathan giggled and hurried to the gate, where a teacher was standing.

“Hi Mr. Phil!” Nathan said when he arrived next to him.

“You know you can call me Phil like the other kids, right?” the teacher smiled.

The kid nodded. “But it's no fun!”

Dan walked up to them.

“Hi I'm Dan, Nathan's dad, I'm assuming you're his teacher?”

“Yes, I don't think we've met yet,” Phil smiled. “My colleague Lisa usually does the openings.”

“Me neither. Sorry we're a bit late, we were looking for the book Nathan was supposed to bring back but it looks like he forgot it at his mum's place,” Dan grimaced.

“Oh, it’s no problem at all,” he smiled. “As long as I get it back before the end of the year, I don’t mind. Alright Nathan, ready to go? We have a lot of things to do today,” Phil looked down at the kid.

Nathan nodded excitedly. “Yes, bye dad!”

Dan chuckled. “Have a good day at school, and be nice, yeah?”

“But I’m always nice!” he pretended to get offended.

“Yeah, you are.”

 

* * *

Dan felt a weight fall on the back of the couch behind him, and he looked over his shoulder to see Nathan’s face just poking up behind him.

“Dad? Can I ask you a question?”

“Yes, of course. Wanna sit down?” he added, patting the space next to him.

Nathan ran around the couch and jumped on it with a big smile on his face.

“Why can Sophie wear dresses and not me? Dresses are pretty. Why don’t I have one?”

“Is Sophie your friend at school?” Dan asked. Nathan nodded. “Well, if you want to wear a dress, you can. Do you want to go buy one tomorrow?”

“No. I want to go today. Please.”

Dan checked the time. It was still early, and they had lots of time before the shops started to close.

“Alright, let’s go then! Do you want some help with putting your shoes on?”

“No thank you! I can do it!”

He ran to the hallway, and Dan smiled. He would probably ask for help in about two minutes, as always. But hey, letting him try wouldn’t cause any harm.

*

Nathan had been jumping up and down in excitement since they left, and Dan had just managed to convince him to hold his hand to keep him from running around everywhere. God, five years-old could be tiring. As soon as they entered the shop, Nathan pulled his dad behind him, looking around until he found the dresses.

“Do you see one that you like? We can go somewhere else if you don’t, but you can take your time.”

The kid thought about it intensely for a few minutes, looking through them all until he turned around to face Dan.

“Can I have the yellow one?”

Dan laughed and nodded, stepping forward to see if there was one in Nathan’s size. He should’ve known it would be the one he was going to choose, yellow was definitely his favourite colour. The dress had a little white pocket, from which was poking out the head of a cat.

“It is a cute one. Do you want another one too?”

Nathan shook his head. “No, just this one is fine. Maybe later?”

“We can come back later if you want to have another one, yes. Are you ready to go home?”

“Yesss I want to try it on! And wear it tomorrow!”

“Okay, let’s go pay for it. Are you happy with it?”

“Yes! Thanks dad!”

Dan laughed and ruffled his hair. “That’s all that matters then. Let’s go home.”

*

“Look dad, it goes with my backpack!”

“Yes sweetheart, you chose a really pretty dress. Are you ready to leave for school?”

Nathan twirled once more, before running to the hallway and back with his shoes in hand.

“Can you help me?”

Dan raised an eyebrow. “You don’t want to do it yourself?”

He shook his head and sat on the couch. “Not today. It takes too long.”

“Okay that’s fine, I’ll do it. There you go,” he added after a few seconds. “All ready for the day.”

*

“Hi Sophie, hi Tom… Hey Nathan, nice dress!” Phil smiled.

Nathan smiled back at him and attempted a bow. “Dad helped me chose it!”

“Well I’m sure you had a lot of fun with that. You can go play with your friends for a while before class starts, if you want.”

“Yeah! Bye dad!”

He run off and Dan walked a bit closer.

“Hey, I’m sorry to ask that but would you mind keeping an eye on Nathan? I mean- I know you already do, and I’m sure the other kids are great but I just, I-I’m just worried someone will make him feel bad about the dress or…” he sighed. “Sorry I’m just rambling at this point but, you know. I’m just a dad. And he was really excited about his dress.”

Phil smiled at him.

“Don’t worry, I get it. And I don’t usually let them be mean to each other, so if there’s a problem we’ll talk it out. It’s kind of my job,” he chuckled.

“Thank you,” Dan grinned, relief washing over him. 

“Oh, while I have you here,” Phil added before he left. “I told Nathan's mum about it but I don't know if she told you, we're holding a parent/teacher meeting next friday, since the end of the year is coming close, to talk about how things went.”

Dan nodded. “Yeah, Lina told me. She can't make it but I should be able to.”

“Oh, okay! Can I count on your presence then?”

“Definitely.”

“Awesome,” Phil smiled. “Well, have a nice day!”

“You too,” Dan smiled back before walking away.

He'd better hurry before he was late to open the shop. There were rarely many people wanting to get flowers before nine in the mornings, but he was always nervous that the one time he was late would be the one time somebody would actually be waiting.

 

* * *

Dan loved his job. It was almost a dream, getting to work amongst beautiful flowers and heady scents, like his own personal heaven in the city. He was lucky that the shop was big enough that he’d managed to put a wooden bench with iron details in a corner. It was almost hidden - which made it perfect for a couple of people who liked to sit there and forget about outside for a bit. Dan never minded, that’s what it was there for after all, and he knew most of them by now. It was nice.

Another part of the job that he still found funny after all this time was people asking for flowers with meanings that didn’t fit the situation at all. He never said anything, of course, because he knew that most people didn’t care about that and were only interested with how the flowers looked but, well, it was always quite hilarious to see someone get a bouquet of yellow carnations for their loved ones. If anyone asked for advice, though, he was always happy to help.

He was in the backroom working on an order when he heard the bell over the door ring, and he wiped the dirt off his hands on a towel before coming out.

“Hey,” he smiled. “Can I help you?”

“Actually, yes,” the lady said. “You’re Nathan Howell’s dad, right? My daughter, Emily, is in the same class as him.”

“Yes, that would be me,” Dan replied. “Did Nate do something?”

“Well,” she ran a hand through her hair. “Emily told me that he was wearing a dress to school yesterday and, you know… I don’t think it’s appropriate, I mean it’s not fair to force the little guy to wear something he shouldn’t wear.”

Dan was not the angry type, far from it, it took a lot for him to lose his temper. And raising a kid mostly by himself had made him even more patient than he used to be. But that was too much.

“Are you really coming to my shop with your bigoted ideas on what my son is or isn’t allowed to do? Nathan decided he found dresses pretty and wanted to wear one, what possible reason would I have to stop him from doing something that makes him happy? You have no right to decide what’s wrong and right, and I am sorry that your daughter has to live with someone so close minded. Now leave, I don’t have anymore time to waste with you. And stay away from my son.”

He could see that Emily’s mum was shocked, but he was standing his ground. She eventually just scoffed and turned around, exiting the shop. Dan sighed. How narrow-minded did one have to be to comment on a child’s clothing? Especially considering how much Nathan had loved his dress, he was so excited when he came back home and kept talking about all the compliments he’d gotten from the other kids. People were exhausting.

 

* * *

Before Dan knew it, it was the day of the parents/teachers meeting. Nathan was with his mum that week, so at least he didn’t have to worry about not getting home too late, or he would’ve just spent the entire evening checking the time. 

He arrived at the coffee shop where the meeting was taking place, and stepped inside. He was a little early, but he could see a few parents and teachers already there.He spotted Phil walking towards him.

"Hey," he smiled. "You made it."

"Told you you could count on my presence," Dan smiled back.

"Nice to see you stayed true to your word then," Phil chuckled. "I'm sorry, this is going to sound weird but, would you mind if we just called each other by our first names? We're probably the same age, it's weird for me to think of you as "Mr. Howell", I feel like I'm talking about a 50 year-old," he grimaced.

"No, no, of course not," Dan laughed. "If it can keep me from looking like a old man, it'd me my pleasure. It's Dan," he added, holding out his hand.

"Well, nice to meet you Dan," Phil said, shaking his hand. "I'm Phil but, I'm guessing you knew that already."

And maybe he kept Dan's hand in his a second more than what what necessary, but maybe it was just Dan's mind playing tricks on him. Yeah, it definitely was the second option. It had to be, right?

"I did know that, yes," Dan smiled. "I have a very talkative kid in your class, you might've seen him around? Curly blond hair, brown eyes, about this high? He always carries a yellow backpack."

"Mmmh," Phil pretended to think about it. "Yeah, I think that rings a bell. More seriously," he added, breaking into a grin, "Nathan's done a lot of progress this year, he's becoming better at explaining what he has trouble with in class if there's something bothering him, and that was his biggest struggle at the beginning of the year."

"I'm glad," Dan said. "I've always tried to encourage him to explain what he was feeling, but it's not always easy."

"I know," Phil nodded. "But hey, that's why we're here too! It's our job to help after all."

Dan smiled and was going to answer when he caught the eye of Emily's mum staring at him from the other side of the room, and the smile quickly fell from his face.

“Is there a problem?” Phil asked.

“It's just Emily's mum,” Dan sighed. “She came to see me the other day, said that I should be ashamed of myself for letting Nate wear a dress to school.”

“Oh,” Phil quickly glanced behind him. “I have to say, I'm not surprised. She wasn't thrilled to know that her daughter would have a gay man as teacher this year.”

Dan grimaced. “Yeah, I get that. When I got divorced I briefly joined a support group for single dads and, well, being the only bi guy there was… fun.”

Phil sighed. “Straight people, huh?”

Dan couldn't hold back a laugh at that. He was starting to find Phil more and more likable, and if they could complain about straight people together, it was even better.

 

* * *

Dan did a lot of flower deliveries on the evenings, riding his bike through the city's streets, basket overflowing with flowers. Tonight had been no different, and he was just about to wrap up his last order before finally getting to go home. 

He stopped at the address he’d been given and buckled his bike to a post, before walking into the building. The note he had received with the order had the entrance code and the flat number, so he could easily find the correct door and knock. It wasn’t always that easy. The door opened and Dan nearly dropped the flowers when Phil appeared behind it?

“Oh, hey,” he said. “I, uh, have a delivery for you?”

“Oh? But I didn’t order anything,” Phil frowned.

“No, no, it’s a gift bouquet,” Dan explained. “From, uh, Kathryn?” he added after checking the name on the note.

Phil’s face lit up. “That’s my mum! It makes sense now. Sorry, I was surprised, she didn’t warn me. Thank you,” he said, taking the bouquet Dan was handing him. “They’re beautiful. So,  _ Jardin d’Eden _ , huh?”

“Yeah, it means Garden of Eden in French. Thought it was a pretty solid name,” Dan shrugged.

“I didn’t realize you ran that flower shop,” Phil smiled. “The window always looks really pretty when I walk past it.”

“What can I say, I’m full of surprises,” Dan grinned.

Phil laughed. “I don’t doubt it. Do you wanna come in for a minute?”

“Oh no, thank you, that’s nice but I have to go close the store,” Dan grimaced apologetically.

“No problem,” Phil had a reassuring smile. “I won’t keep you any longer. I’ll see you at school?”

“Most definitely,” Dan confirmed. “Have a goodnight.”

“Goodnight to you too,” Phil smiled again before closing the door.

 

* * *

It had become a habit, somehow, leaving a bouquet of flowers on Phil’s doorstep every other day. So what if it was cliché to give his crush flowers to let him know he liked him, it kind of was his area of expertise after all. Might as well make all this knowledge useful.

Phil hadn’t said a word about it, but Dan had seen the way his smile seemed brighter in the mornings after he’d left him a bouquet.

He was at work when Phil came in one evening, a subtle smile playing in his lips.

"Hey," Dan said. "Can I help you?"

"Didn't see you at school this morning," Phil walked up to the counter.

"Ah, yeah, it's Lina's week, which means I didn't have to run to be on time for once," Dan chuckled. "Did you want something?"

"Actually, yes. You know, I've been getting a lot of flowers these last few weeks."

"Oh, really?" Dan pretended to be surprised. "Hmm, maybe you have a secret admirer somewhere."

"You see, that's kind of what I was hoping for. There's this guy I know, you knows a whole lot about flowers, so I thought it might've been him. You wouldn't have seen anyone regularly walking in to get a bouquet, by any chance?"

"Mh," Dan feigned to think about it. "No, I don't see anyone, sorry."

"Ah well, that's what I thought. I guess I'll have to directly ask that guy about it then." He leaned on the counter. "Good choice in flowers, by the way. I really like the blue touch."

Dan broke into a grin. "They reminded me of your eyes," he admitted.

That wasn't the answer Phil must've been expecting, or maybe he'd thought they would continue this game of not saying what either of them were really thinking, because his eyes widened slightly and red crept up on his cheeks before he hid his face in his hands.

"That's not fair," he groaned. "You can't just... say things like that without warning!"

Dan laughed. "Damn, here I was thinking that weeks worth of flowers would be enough of a warning."

"Well, maybe you were wrong," Phil looked up. "Listen, it's been a while since I've done this, I might be a little rusty, but uh. I think you're pretty cool. And just pretty."

Dan grinned. "Well, thank you. You're not doing too bad so far."

Phil chuckled. "Hey, I'm trying! Okay, so, I wanted to ask if you'd like to maybe go out sometime?"

Dan smiled and grabbed the bouquet he had kept under the counter, picking up the card he'd put in it and handing it to Phil.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," he laughed. "So, yes, definitely."

“Awesome,” Phil smiled. “Always wanted to take you for coffee.”

 

* * *

“Hey,” Phil spoke up. “I just realized I never asked you if these flowers had a particular meaning.”

Dan smiled. It was their fourth date, and they had chosen to sit down in the park for a while, to enjoy the warmth and the nice weather. He leaned back, resting on his elbows.

“Lavender roses, purple lilac, and blue hibiscus,” he recited. “Lavender roses indicate romantic feelings, purple lilac stands for “first emotions of love”, and blue hibiscus represents depth, serenity, and delicate beauty. Very fitting for your eyes.”

“Awww, you were a romantic,” Phil grinned.

Dan laughed. “I sent you flowers almost every day, and you're surprised I'm a romantic? You may want to work on your deduction skills, dear.”

Phil laughed with him.

“That was very sweet of you,” he said, leaning in to place a kiss on his cheek.

Dan smiled and sat up, reaching for a few flowers next to him, quickly weaving them together while Phil was distracted by the shapes in the clouds.

“There,” Dan said once he was done.

Phil looked at him and broke into a smile when Dan put the flower crown on his head.

“You look even more adorable now,” Dan said before leaning in to kiss him.

He chuckled and lied down, heart full of the beauty of this late afternoon. Phil leaned over him and slipped a daisy in his hair.

“We're even now,” he said before kissing him again.

He lied down next to him, head on his shoulder, and they stayed in silence like this for a while.

“I'm going to have to go pick up Nate,” Dan said eventually. “Do you wanna stay for dinner with us?”

“Are you sure?” Phil propped himself up on his elbows to look at him.

“Yeah,” Dan smiled. “You always were his favourite, you know? He told me. He’d be glad to have you with us.”

“Well, who am I to refuse then,” Phil smiled back. “No, seriously, I’d be more than happy to join you.”

“Great,” Dan said, standing up. “Let’s go then,” he added, holding out his hand to help Phil up.

He took it, and neither of them let go as they walked away.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I had a lot of fun writing this, it was a nice break from working on longer things.  
> Don't hesitate to tell me your thoughts, here or on tumblr @/wavydanrises! I hope you enjoyed it ^^


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